Don’t worry too much about the current spate of injuries in the Springbok camp, says iafrica.com columnist BJ Botha, because the Lions are facing the same problems and more.

The glut of injuries in the Springbok camp at the moment does seem a big hurdle, but I think if you have to look at it from all sides it is not that serious. There are some serious injuries – like Conrad Jantjes – but on the whole most of the guys like Schalk Burger, Fourie du Preez and Jean de Villiers should be fit to face the British and Irish Lions when the Test series start.

I also feel that we have more than enough depth in South Africa to field a formidable Springbok team regardless of the injuries we have, however we do need the guys I have mentioned above to steer the ship!

On top of this you also need to remember that the Lions are facing the same problems on their side. Ireland’s Alan Quinlan is facing a possible suspension, while there are a few guys carrying injuries after a huge Six Nations season, followed by the European Cup and their respective leagues.

At the end of the day the Lions players are coming to the end of their season, while we are only midway through ours, so in reality we should be the fresher of the two sides! We have seen on previous incoming tours that the European sides struggle at this time of the year after coming off the back of a long, gruelling season. We smashed England in 2007 and when Wales arrived last year — as the Six Nations champions — we did the same.

Having said that, however, it will be a concern for Springbok coach Peter de Villiers that he may have very little time with his players ahead of the Lions series with both the Sharks and Bulls very much in contention for the Super 14 play-offs — although once again it looks like it will come down to the final game between those two teams!

With that in mind it is going to be a very exciting end to the Super 14 this season with the top six teams all in with a shout. The Sharks have a tough run-in with the clinically sound Waratahs, followed by the Bulls, and if you look at the movement on the table (the Sharks went from sixth to fourth with their win), it is pretty clear that nothing short of victory will do at this stage…

The Hurricanes are sitting in a great position, but with their game against the Chiefs this weekend, one of the two will be stalled this weekend, which is great news for the Sharks and the Bulls. But then knowing the Chiefs they will probably go on and score five tries and pick up two losing bonus points.

But like I said it is wide open in the top six and the Waratahs may just be eyeing fourth place and stay in South Africa for the long haul of playing a semifinal in SA.

Rumblings in Europe

In Europe, meanwhile, the tournaments are also coming to an end with the Heineken Cup final on the horizon and all the domestic competitions also wrapping up.

There have been few injury concerns in view of the Lions, while some questions have been asked of players holding back ahead of the tour, but you can never tell for sure if that is the case. It may be something in the back of the players’ minds, but they will certainly not be entering these games half-heartedly.

There have also been some rumblings about the decision to go with Paul O’Connell as captain of the Lions as Brian O’Driscoll again shone during Leinster’s win over Munster, while O’Connell seemed to go missing a bit, but I am sure that will all be put to bed by the time the squad assembles.

We have seen on previous tours how domestic, and international, rivalries can cause problems in the Lions team (Keith Wood in 1997, and a well known physical scrumming session, comes to mind), but the guys are fully professional now and apart from healthy competition within the squad I don’t see that being a problem.

It is clear, meanwhile, that the Lions management is leaving nothing to chance this year. Apart from the usual preparations (working on combinations, starting XVs etc) they are employing some unique ways of battling the altitude they will face in South Africa as well. Plans to train at high altitude have been scrapped, but the players are going to be wearing special masks to limit oxygen in an attempt to adapt to the conditions in SA…

So the Lions will be pulling out all the stops ahead of their tour to South Africa as they aim to repeat the ‘97 victory.

Finally I just wanted to touch on the Heineken Cup semifinal between Leicester and Cardiff over the weekend (it was decided on a kick-off if you did not see it). I really thought it was unfair to decide a game like that, particularly a semifinal, and I hope it does not go this way again. You have to keep on playing! Eventually one of the teams will tire and lose out – so perhaps after extra time fails to decide a winner you can go sudden death? But a shoot-out? Not the way forward in my book.

BJ’s Super 14 predcitions:

Lions vs Highlanders: This is going to be a huge battle as these two sides play for pride! We saw last weekend that the Highlanders pack are vulnerable and the big Lions pack should dominate here and then unleash their backs who have scored a number of tries, especially Henno Mentz who has been exceptional for the Lions. This will be a physical encounter as the Highlanders always are, however, I think the Lions will have too much for them at Ellis park and should take it by 10+points.

Sharks vs Waratahs: I think this will be the game of the weekend with the Sharks having some unfinished business from last years semifinal. These are the two top defensive sides in the tournament so I think tries will have to be clinically planned and executed! With the Sharks playing in the “Tank” and the possibility of moving up to the top 2 or 3 I think they will be to strong for the ‘Tahs and should take it by 5+ points.

Bulls vs Cheetahs: This is going to be the big South African encounter of the weekend and their will definitely be no love lost when these two sides run out at Loftus of Saturday. The Bulls, however, have much more at stake as the Cheetahs are just trying to selvage some pride. The Bulls will be to strong and it should be a bonus point victory for them.

Stormers vs Force: With things not going the way of the Cape franchise and all the injury woes they face it is going to be another tough one this weekend. The Force are coming off a close encounter against the Bulls so they can take some confidence out of that when they face the Stormers on Saturday. The Stormers have to face up to the Force with whatever side they field on Saturday and put in a performance the way they can. I really hope the Stormers can get a result on Saturday but I feel it is going to be a very tough encounter. Too close to call.

  • BJ Botha's Northern Exposure will appear weekly on iafrica.com, so log in next week for more from the Springbok powerhouse or leave a comment below!


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